Hobart and William Smith Colleges

President Joyce P. Jacobsen Inaugurated

On Oct. 18, 2019, Joyce P. Jacobsen was officially installed as the 29th president of Hobart College and the 18th of William Smith College during an inauguration ceremony on the Hobart Quadrangle. Jacobsen used her speech to contest the idea that institutions of higher education are in crisis and to remind the gathered students, faculty, staff, alums and guests that colleges -- and specifically Hobart and William Smith - have a long history of successfully weathering challenges.

She described Hobart and William Smith as "spunky, scrappy colleges that have survived numerous existential threats over their years and nonetheless just keep on keeping on, hustling and marketing and serving the community in which they are embedded," and declared "a college still provides the single best bet for having a positive transformational experience that lays the groundwork for a successful adulthood." You can read more about Jacobsen online.